Warwickshire FDI excellence recognised by international awards

"Warwickshire is one of the most attractive investment locations for business in the UK, and we continue to be innovative and proactive in the support we provide to business, such as the recently launched Property Infrastructure Fund.”

Warwickshire’s place as a leading centre for FDI foreign direct investment has been recognised in the latest ‘fDi Intelligence’s European Cities and Regions of the Future 2023 FDI Awards.

The Coventry & Warwickshire area placed third for FDI Strategy, and top 10 placings for Economic potential (ranked 8th) and business friendliness (ranked 9th). The rankings benchmark European cities and regions according to their economic, financial, and business strengths.

The local investment strategy stood out due to the strength of its soft-landing support, close collaboration with local partners and unique offer to inward investors, with OLA Electric, Polestar and Switch Mobility amongst recent new investors into the area.

Data released by the Department for Business & Trade (formerly the Department for International Trade) for 2022 revealed that the area attracted 45 foreign investment projects in the year 2021/22, maintaining the trend of recent years. Key local sectors featured strongly in the data, with 15 of these projects related to software and games development, ten related to automotive and future mobility, and five to e-commerce and logistics.

Coventry & Warwickshire area is the highest performing area in the Midlands per capita, where the number of projects is compared to the local population. For 2022 the area scored one project per 26,000 people, with the next comparable LEP area coming in at one project per 31,000, and elsewhere as low as one in 71,000.

Overall, the Coventry and Warwickshire area has seen 19,519 jobs created from 347 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects over the last eight years (to 2022).

Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Coventry & Warwickshire all took top-three rankings in their respective categories, emphasising the attractiveness of the West Midlands’ inward investment offer. The West Midlands is the best performing region outside of London and the South-east for FDI investment.

Mark Ryder, Strategic Director for Communities at Warwickshire County Council, said: “These rankings emphasise the strength of our FDI proposition to new and existing investors, the work we do with partners and the innovative approaches we are taking to attract investment, including foreign investment to the county.

Warwickshire is one of the most attractive investment locations for business in the UK, and we continue to be innovative and proactive in the support we provide to business, such as the recently launched Property Infrastructure Fund”.

Warwickshire County Council provides soft-landing support to businesses looking to set up in the UK Midlands, through Invest Coventry & Warwickshire. More information can be found on the dedicated website, www.investcw.co.uk